Toddler Bedding

We set up the toddler beds in advance of the second birth. (I have two sets of twins, so it's a bit more complicated.) I bought Dora the Explorer bedding and got my first twins excited about setting up their room for them. I did not transition them into the beds at first; instead we just had play time in that room and talked up how the room was for big girls etc. Many times they asked to sleep in their "big girl beds" for naps and of course I let them. When the second set of twins arrived, they had to stay at the hospital for a couple of weeks. When my daughters visited them, they exclaimed, "Mommy, we need to bring them home with us!" I replied, "Well, where would they sleep?" and the unanimous response was, "I know, how about they could sleep in the cribs, since they are so small, and we can sleep in the big girl beds?" Oh, I said, that sounds like a good idea. And so the transition was made and it was their idea and nothing could be smoother. So you might think about something like that since you are expecting in Feb. Otherwise I kept my girls in the crib as long as possible. Life turns another corner when they are more mobile. Good luck.

My son turned 2 in Jan. and my second was born that May. I transitioned him in Feb. to his big boy bed. I was worried about him understanding that he wasn't getting the crib taken away from him and it was given to the baby. I didn't think he was emotionally mature enough to give it to the baby either. I also set up the bed early and played in the new room and talked about how it was for big boys for a week or more before he moved all the way over. I automatically transitioned the bedding when I did the bed. It does take time for them to get used to having a pillow and blanket but they do figure out what is comfortable to them soon enough. We tuck him in at bed time then it is up to him what he does from there. I also gave him a blanket and small pillow in his crib before the transition so it wouldn't be so weird and he loved them both. I moved those over to the big bed so he had something coming with him from the crib that was already "his" and familiar. Just keep dressing him warmly and he'll be fine.

Both my kids started using blankets when they went to a toddler bed. For some reason the big bed just made them start paying more attention to stuff like that. They had character pillows and blankets and I guess that helped. We also had special nights before the toddler bed where they got to sleep with Mommy and Daddy, and since our bed had pillows and blankets, I think they just expected their big kid bed to have them too. They kicked the blanket off some times but it didn't take long before they figured out how to pull it back up. K.

J.,
I have a 2 yr old son as well. I am due with #2 on Dec 20. We bought our son's big boy furniture and set up the room...full size bed with all the bedding and bed rails. The room has been set up for about a week, and we will begin the transition (nursery/crib to big boy room/bed) tomorrow night. My son also does not sleep with blankets and we dress him also in the warm flannel footed long-sleeve pj's. My plan is to pull down the comforter, push the pillows aside, and have him sleep on the top sheet....trying to simulate a crib-like atmosphere as much as possible. He's been in the room almost daily and knows that it is his "big boy room." I think I may start having him sleep in there at night as opposed to nap time. You can check back with me in about a week and I will let you know how it turned out.
Good luck,
A.

My son is 22 months old and we just transitioned him about 2 months ago (due to a new baby needing the crib). We started with his naps in his "big boy bed" using the pillows and covers. We did this for about 3 weeks. We also made a big deal everytime someone came over to show his "big boy bed" off (to grandparents, etc). When he finally slept in his bed for the first time, he did really well. We also put the bed in the exact position that the crib was in so that if/when he woke up at night he had the same view and it didn't scare him.